On Tuesday Kevin McCarthy made history. It wasn’t good history, mind you. Instead he earned two unfortunate milestones: He became the first House Speaker to be removed, and he became the House Speaker with the shortest tenure, beating Michael Crawford Kerr, whose stint ended in 1876 after he died of tuberculosis. After the vote the jokes came flying. A good candidate for the best — or at least the coldest — wasn’t about McCarthy. It was about the man who initiated his ousting.
The man was Matt Gaetz, who’s been a thorn in McCarthy’s side for most of 2023. In January, the MAGA lawmaker helped drag out McCarthy’s ascent to the Speakership over 15 humiliating votes. After McCarthy sought Democrats’ help in averting a disastrous shutdown of the federal government, Gaetz vowed to hold a vote to remove him. And so he did. And removed McCarthy was. But the victory was pyrrhic: After all, it earned him a sick burn from The Daily Show’s Twitter/X account.
Refreshing to see Matt Gaetz fuck someone over 18
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 3, 2023
“Refreshing to see Matt Gaetz f*ck someone over 18,” the comedy news show’s account wrote.
That, of course, is a reference to Gaetz’s own dalliance with almost losing his House gig. Starting in late 2020, he was the subject of a federal investigation into his ties to a sex trafficking ring. One story alleged that Gaetz had unwittingly had sex with a minor. He was ultimately never charged, but over the summer the House Ethics Committee opened their own investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and other possible offenses.
As for McCarthy, he’s probably not doing so hot right now. But if he needs some cheering up, he can check out The Daily Show’s Twitter/X feed.